Read the passage and answer the questions that follow: Violence against women…
2023
Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:
Violence against women comes in many forms and from various sources. One that is not highlighted enough is the violence they face from their birth family or natal kin—parents, siblings or close relatives. New Delhi-based non-governmental organisation Shakti Shalini recently brought out an incisive report, Unkahi—the Unspoken, documenting the rise of violence against women from natal families during the pandemic. Normally, the natal family is the one a woman turns to for help, but during the pandemic, staying at home did not always mean staying safe for many women. A woman complaining about violence from a partner is more easily believable than one who makes such allegations against her family, conditioned as we are to the concept that elders and immediate kin offer protection and physical and emotional safety. So, to name and shame them is not easy. Shakti Shalini's study was based on women who approached the NGO for help during the pandemic and encompassed those between 18 and 27 years, with 65% belonging to the 22-27 age group. A majority belonged to the working and lower middle classes. Media reports during the pandemic highlighted increased marital violence, but single women living with natal families had similar experiences. The honorary secretary said natal-family violence is structurally based in society and needs a structural approach. Though society claims family is a cohesive unit, it must equally accept that family can be an environment of abuse for vulnerable members, especially girls and women. All women reported emotional abuse and psychological trauma. Fifteen of 20 faced physical and verbal violence, including slapping. Three reported physical abuse and one was threatened with forced marriage. In 60% of cases, both male and female relatives caused harm.
Natal family violence is difficult to believe because
A. The family is seen as a cohesive unit
B. Women turn to the natal family for help
C. It is believed that elders and kin offer emotional and physical safety
D. Naming and shaming the natal family is easy
E. Women in the family support them
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer: C. A, B and C only — Concept: In passage-based multiple-statement questions, separate the author’s causal explanation from examples and from claims that reverse the text. A…
- A.
A, D and E only
- B.
B and C only
- C.
A, B and C only
- D.
B, D and E only
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept: In passage-based multiple-statement questions, separate the author’s causal explanation from examples and from claims that reverse the text.
A statement belongs in the answer only when the passage explicitly presents it as a reason for the stated outcome.
Application
Statement A is part of the explanation: society treats the family as a cohesive unit, so abuse within it conflicts with the expected image.
Statement B is part of the explanation: women normally turn to their natal family for help, which makes that family seem like a source of protection rather than harm.
Statement C is part of the explanation: elders and close relatives are believed to provide physical and emotional safety, so allegations against them are less readily believed.
Statement D reverses the passage, which says naming and shaming natal kin is not easy.
Statement E is unsupported: the passage does not present support from women in the family as a reason that natal-family violence is difficult to believe.
Contrast
A, D and E only: D reverses the passage’s statement that naming and shaming natal kin is not easy, while E is not supplied as a reason for disbelief.
B and C only: both expectations are stated, but this combination leaves out the cohesive-family belief expressed in A.
B, D and E only: B is a stated expectation, but D reverses the passage and E is not supplied as a reason for disbelief.
Cross-check
A, B, and C all describe protective social expectations that the passage gives as reasons for disbelief; D reverses the passage, and E is not offered as a reason. Therefore the supported combination is A, B and C only.